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Who: The Chitoku inaugural class.
Where: Chitoku campus, various locations.
When: Sunday, April 3, 2022, two days before the start of spring term.
What: The school has opened its doors.

After eight years of careful planning and preparation, the campus of Chitoku Academy for the Gifted was coming alive at last. Helpful staff members had been posted everywhere in anticipation of the crowd, and seemingly every variable had been accounted for in order to make the move-in and initial orientation go as smoothly as possible...

Save, that is, for the weather.

The sky had just opened up on several hundred students and their families. Boxes and suitcases were being hastily hauled to whatever shelter could be found, with the aforementioned helpful staff members now acting as guides to the most convenient locations, and clusters of people seemed to naturally form around them, waiting for the downpour to slacken so the day could proceed.

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"Just in time!"

"What is with this weather?"

"Let's see, room 418..."

"Oh! You too? Looks like we're roommates, roommate!"

"..."

The luckiest of the crowd had been fortunate enough to be near the dormitories when the storm hit, and the lobbies of the two buildings quickly filled with people and luggage with varying degrees of saturation. While some immediately left to unpack and put this whole sorry business behind them, others hung around to socialize and get acquainted with their future fellow residents.

"Man, this place is so rich, you'd think they'd feed us better..."

"Don't talk about our school like that!"

"I'm not going to argue with free."

The central location and the lure of refreshments intended for later orientations made the student cafeteria the preferred source of shelter for many. Some poor administrator had already been dispatched there to apologize profusely for the inconvenience and offer assistance or compensation to whoever might request it.

"This place is huge!"

"I bet they could do, like, Defense Force drills in here if they wanted to."

".. This is way too clean for a gym. It's weirding me out."

The school's athletic complex was slightly more out of the way, but its size allowed it to handle the overflow that the other meeting areas couldn't. With the rest of the complex besides the main arena closed off, there was little to do bit sit and chat until conditions improved.

After the downpour started, Miyume followed her mother's instructions and joined the crowd flooding into the cafeteria. Her cane made things a little awkward and she didn't really need it today but her mother had insisted that she bring it anyway.

She didn't check out the refreshments just yet and instead looked around for a free seat. She spotted one in the middle of the cafeteria and sat down to rest and wait.

The girl who flopped bonelessly into a seat a few spots down was next to impossible to miss, even if you wanted to.

Where most of those present had at least made an effort to look presentable, Shizuru had apparently missed the memo, with the trenchcoat over her shoulders half-hiding a shirt that was a size too small even on her skinny frame, and a pair of shorts that had probably been jeans a decade or so ago.

And then there was, of course, the hat.

Her duffel bag hit the floor a second later, and the plate she'd piled refreshments on hit the table a second after that. Clearly, she had taken advantage of the opportunity that had presented itself.

Feeling the temperature drop, an chill wind, several complaints about such and such getting wet, and having a few drops hitting her were a few hints to hurry up and get her stuff.

A very helpful staff member had been more than happy to point Haruka towards the dorms with very specific instructions of where to turn and where not to and had even almost flagged down some other students that seemed to be going towards the dorms to give Haruka a hand until the girls had fortunately run on ahead to get out the rain without hearing the teacher call to them. Haruka assured her she'd be fine and that she'd spent the previous few days familiarizing herself with the online map of the school's layout. Even if the online map was pure visual.

Haruka followed the sounds of the crowds and listened for when the girls' voices seemed to split from the guys and into the building. She started following the girls until-

"Ah-"

At some point, the faulty zipper on her bag had started sliding back, causing a gap to form in her bag. It was right then that the gap was big enough that the items that had been crammed into the bag bust out, sending clothes to hit the ground quietly and a few books to hit more solidly.

"Oh dear-"

She turned immediately, tucking her cane under her arm as she felt and gathered her items.

It was only a few seconds before Haruka would no doubt hear a telltale rustle of fabric nearby, with a voice joining it soon after from down near her own level.

"Shikata Haruka. Right?" It was female, and sounded slightly older than most of the rest of the crowd nearby, but not quite old enough to be one of the parents. Whoever she was, though, she was helping pick up Haruka's scattered belongings.

Abruptly, there came a low chuckle from the newcomer's direction. "Heh, I guess this whole situation isn't shikata (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shikata_ga_nai) nai (http://www.matsu-kaze.net/mk/aruiru/) after all."

Haruka turned her head in the direction of the female voice, looking a bit surprised. After a moment though, she laughed at the turn of phrase.

"No, it isn't at all," Haruka replied with a smile. She folded what felt like two balled shirts around her mic, stopping long enough to feel if that felt broken. She'd have to test it later to be sure. Tilting her head slightly, "You know who I am?"

Miyume's eyes widened a bit as the girl sat down. She certainly did stand out to her with the way she was dressed and the shabby state of her clothes made Miyume feel a little less self-conscious about her own. The pale blue pinafore dress Miyume wore was one of the nicest ones she owned but the fabric was a little thin in places and its lace trim was a little frayed.

Her smile, while polite and friendly, was also a bit on the nervous side. Miyume didn't say anything, however, just picked at a bit of lint on her skirt and stole curious glances at the other girl and her food.

"You're hard to miss. You're the only blind student here."

There was a short pause as the woman turned to gather a couple of books that had skidded a little farther away than the rest. "Ihoji Aya. I'm an assistant to the nursing staff, so knowing that kind of thing is part of my job."

Shizuru was used to feeling eyes on her, though not quite as many as she had here. Not that it had ever really bothered her, but the atmosphere was... different. The adults seemed just that little bit more hostile, anyway.

One pair of those eyes belonged to the girl next to her, but they were showing curiosity more than anything. Cool. That was good by her.

"Yo." Raising one hand in languid greeting, she picked up a neatly-wrapped matcha cookie with the other and held it out, as if in an offering of friendship. "These are pretty good."

Not being one to reject offers of friendship, food, or much of anything else, Miyume took the cookie.

"Thanks," she said, clearly grateful, as she unwrapped it.
She bit into it delicately and chewed for several moments.

"You're right! This is really tasty."

Something landed on the floor by the third girl's feet.

A bag larger than usual, that clattered loudly because of the equipment contained within. A thin man was kneeling down at one side and unzipping the main pocket. He closed his eyes lazily. He laughed and lay an umbrella at his feet - and then got further down on his knees till he touched the ground. His eyes were squinting as he made sure nothing had been damaged anywhere.

Better to let go of his belongings, he thought, and worry about them than to struggle with the weight.

"My, it feels good to take a small rest." Rummage. "Pardon me." Rummage, rummage. "I would be happy to help you make it a little dirty, if you would like."

"Really? I didn't notice," Haruka replied easily enough, feeling around until she couldn't find anything else in her immediate area. She had things neatly folded until she promptly shoved them deep into her bag with little care. When she was done, she nodded her head slightly,

"Pleased to meet you then, Ihoji-sensei." She tiled her head slightly again, reminiscent to a dog, and the rain drops started to come more steadily. "Moving day must be hectic if you're out here helping out too."

Aya slid her collected stack of items over a little more sharply than was entirely necessary, expecting that the sound would be enough for Haruka to notice.

"Hey, no need for the sarcasm." She was audibly annoyed. "This place has plenty of people who're out of the ordinary. It wouldn't be totally unreasonable... well, whatever," she huffed. "I'm here in case there's an accident. Lots of people gather, things happen."

"Oh! Do you mean-- that is--" The girl, clearly startled, let out a nervous little chirruping giggle and turned to the friend she'd been commenting to--but not without her eyes darting back to the newcomer rather a lot.

"Sacchi, did he just-- I mean, do you think--"

'Sacchi' gave her friend a sly grin and a wink, and her shoulders a gentle push. "Go get 'em, tiger."

Haruka noted the sound and reached for the stack. She initially reached too far right but caught it as she swept left. These two disappeared into the bag with much shoving and finicking to get it all and make it stay in.

"Sorry. I'll adjust snark levels in the future," she replied. Looking genuinely interested, "Like what?"

The man unearthed a number of his possessions and put them in a line beside the bag. From an iPod to a digital camera and a collection of grooming products in a bathroom bag. Then he picked up the electricals and inspected them again, holding them under a scrutinising eye first, and then placed them back in the bag.

"Greetings, Sacchi-chan. Since this seems to be the time for introductions, I am to be the leader of the kyudo club at this school." A nice smile. "Imaizumi Mirai. This meeting is a pleasure."

He stood to offer the other girl a polite smile too, and gave both the sight of him having a finger twining around the cord of the student card dangling against his chest. He looked bored, as though it were a millstone around his neck.

"It's nice to meet you, Imaizumi-san!" The nervous girl, now dealing with what looked to be a full-body blush, went into a long, deep bow. "U-um, I'm Sakakibara Yoshino. I'm in the high school, first year. I'll be in the soccer club, so I hope I'll be able to see you a lot!"

A second later, she realized how that had come out, and clapped her hands to her mouth as her face flushed still redder.

Her friend, 'Sacchi', gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder, then offered a shorter, shallower bow of her own. "Inuzuka Sachiko, same year." Though she looked a bit older than that. "She's shy, so try to be gentle, okay?"

Yoshino squeaked at that last.

" 's a ton of 'em down there," Shizuru noted with her mouth half-full, waving so vaguely in the direction of the refreshments that it was impossible to get any more information from the gesture than that.

She swallowed and leaned back in the chair, the front legs lifting a little precariously off the ground. "I'm Shizuru. Kasubata," she added, the last name an afterthought. "Second year. You?"

A small smile came up on the corners of Mirai's lips. He stared at both of them; a person-to-person gaze that would make each believe at least he was paying her the full amount of his attention.

"I am always gentle, Sachiko-chan. Yoshino-chan."

He could not simply let it go that Yoshino seemed so innocent, and continued smiling. Her friend had truly thrown her under the buss. And because of it, his attention came to her a little more.

"I cannot promise that I'll be able to devote my time to you, because I must help everyone who comes to my dojo. It's the burden that I have to bear." A shrug, and he gave another friendly smile. "Well, I have time to come and watch. Would you visit me?"

"People slip and fall, get allergy attacks, bee stings--all kinds of little stuff. And someone's gotta be around to take care of it." There was a sound nearby of some kind of crinkly fabric shifting; Aya was probably fortunate enough to be wearing a coat.

"Ishichi-sensei's busy with last-minute stuff, so us peons are all out here helping out."

"Of course!" Yoshino brightened once she realized that Mirai was kind enough to overlook her embarrassment. "I'll come whenever I can!"

Sachiko seemed more skeptical, but her faint, largely unconscious smile made it clear that the upperclassman's charms hadn't been totally lost on her. "Easy now, Yoshi-chan. Don't get too worked up."

"Sounds sucky," Haruka said succinctly with a nod. Looking skyward, she seemed to think on something, "So in a story that makes you the underpaid heroine? The one no one notices or just writes off as another school nurse but the one running to the aid of students, catching them as they fall, fighting against the bee sting conspiracy, battling stormy weather, and helping the klutzy blind."

"Hah!" The sharp bark of a laugh garnered a couple of funny looks, which Aya brushed off. "Not far off. Just switch out 'underpaid' for 'unpaid'. But hey, the rest of it's going to be worth the hassle, so Ishichi-sensei says."

Finally, she stood up and brushed herself off, then offered a hand to Haruka--before realizing what she was doing and sticking it in her pocket to cover her embarrassment. "You good from here? Not a lot of Braille around, but the elevator's got it, anyway."

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